Floyd Schofield (18-0, 12 KO’s) will no longer be participating on the heavily-anticipated “Last Crescendo” Riyadh Season card set to be held on Saturday, February 22. Schofield was due to face WBC lightweight (135 lbs) champion Shakur Stevenson (22-0, 10 KO’s) for his title, but the American prospect has been withdrawn from his upcoming bout with Stevenson as claimed by The Ring due to unconfirmed health issues―purportedly an “illness” which has been completely unsubstantiated on.
According to The Ring, the British Boxing Board of Control (BBBofC) withdrew Schofield from his upcoming bout. The BBBofC is currently regulating the upcoming February 22 Riyadh Season card due to an arrangement struck with the General Entertainment Authority which is headed by chairman and The Ring owner Turki Alalshikh; perfectly emphasizing the lack of oversight in boxing where foreign governing bodies are allowed to regulate boxing cards held in completely different countries.
The BBBofC’s position is further an issue given the governing body is not known for its transparency, and the organization itself hasn’t clarified as to why exactly Floyd Schofield was withdrawn. As confusion reigned, Floyd Schofield’s own father would proceed to confuse things even further when he accused Shakur Stevenson’s team of poisoning his son.
This was claimed by various sources, with Schofield’s father, Floyd Schofield Sr., allegedly having claimed in a now-deleted post on Twitter/X that an individual involved with Stevenson’s team had reached out and alleged that a masseuse for Floyd Schofield that supposedly “wiped a cream” on the fighter had been working for Stevenson which led to the alleged poisoning and eventual withdrawal.
The Sun’s Wally Downes Jr. reported that there were other claims made from Schofield’s team which would proceed to again accuse Stevenson’s team of spiking Schofield’s food. Apparently, there was also an unconfirmed interview from Schofield’s side where the airconditioning and car problems were blamed for the fighters’ withdrawal.
Notably, this is not the first time Floyd Schofield has been implicated in accusing other individuals. He had most recently been involved in hinting that SNAC owner Victor Conte was supplying Shakur Stevenson and other fighters with PEDs, mainly due to the fighter’s involvement with the sports nutritional company.
Earlier today, an Instagram video from Schofield’s Instagram account showed he was actually hospitalized. Prior to this post, Floyd Schofield Sr., who took control of Schofield’s Twitter/X account, seemed to maintain his now-deleted accusations of food poisoning:
“People are going to feel dumb when they see the proof,” Schofield Sr. presumably posted on social media.
“People fear Floyd and this just made him more focused. Karma is very real… All things will be revealed in time.
“We look forward going home to Texas and on to the next fight. The fight game is so dirty on this level.
No proof or evidence―nor any substantiation on what actually ails Floyd Schofield―has yet surfaced.
In essence, it is still entirely clear what exactly is the reason for Floyd Schofield’s withdrawal, and the accusations made towards Shakur Stevenson and his team are completely speculative with no amount of evidence.
Of course, the BBBofC and Riyadh Season could have communicated the exact reason for Schofield’s absence on Saturday’s upcoming card but neither of the two organizations have been forthcoming about why the fighter will not participate. It has been confirmed Stevenson may yet be able to fight a replacement opponent with the WBC champion linked with British 135-pound contender Josh Padley (15-0, 4 KO’s) and Moroccan fighter Moussa Gholam (22-1, 13 KO’s) as potential opponents.
Another reason for Schofield’s pull-out of his February 22 bout was due to weight issues as Matchroom chairman Eddie Hearn would hint at during a recent interview:
“I don’t represent Floyd Schofield,” Hearn told IFL TV.
“[But] what I believe is―one of the issues is it’s a bit of a pain in the arse. The British Boxing Board of Control operate the events out here [in Saudi Arabia]. They have a very strict rule of a check weight on the Wednesday of fight week.
“Now, I’m not saying that rule is a bad rule but nowhere else in the world―to my knowledge―of any major commission has that rule. Every international fighter that comes over―I mean they should be told weeks in advance, some only find out when they get there [to Saudi Arabia]―but basically fighters are really focusing on making that weight for the check weight, and then they’re rehydrating after the check weight and then they’re going forward to another weigh-in two days later.
“So I don’t know whether it’s a good or bad rule, but it’s a rule, and that’s the way it is. So, all of a sudden you got a situation where a fighter like Floyd Schofield has to make a check weight tomorrow. He might want to train tonight. He really doesn’t want to come to the Grand Arrivals.“
Oddly enough, the BBBofC’s rules do not mention any sort of rule mandating weights to be checked prior to the official weigh-ins, which further mires the entire situation in suspicion and confusion. Combined with a lack of messaging from the governing body itself regarding the situation, and its current function in regulating fights pertaining to various international fighters in Saudi Arabia, further confirms the need for a main international regulatory body for professional boxing bouts.
Schofield, 22, was set to challenge for Shakur Stevenson’s WBC 135 lbs title for the first time of his career. The fighter is currently promoted by Golden Boy Promotions.
